Tuxedo Tuesday: Going to Your Fitting

So now that the tuxedos are all picked out, you have to get measured, whether you’re the groom, a groomsman, father, or even a ring bearer.

You usually need to be fitted for your tux a month before the wedding (depending on the store), however I recommend going earlier if possible. Once the groom has his tux booked, you can go anytime after that and they will keep your order in their files, but the earlier you go, it gives them more time to order in your size if they don’t have it. I recommend 6-8 weeks before the wedding.

Photo via: eHow.com

Roughly know your measurements before going in. This way you can double check that they aren’t way off with your measurements. (Check back next Tuesday to see my guide on tux measurements). You never know when you’ll get the assistant who has only been there a week and ends up measuring your neck as a 18 (XXL) when you wear a 16 (XL). The common measurements they’ll take are: neck, sleeve length, waist, outseam, and sometimes inseam.

Don’t worry about knowing your jacket size, as you should be able to try one on there for fit. And if they don’t offer, ask!

Photo via: Joe Elario Photography

Wear/take dress socks with you for your fitting. You will want to try on the shoes if possible. It’s better to try them on at the fitting than tell them you’re a 9 and wish you had 9 ½’s when you’re walking down the aisle with your toes bunched up in your shoe.

And most of all, you want to be comfortable! Don’t ask them to give you 38 waist pants when they measured you as a 40 with the hopes of shedding a few pounds. If you do loose weight, just go in and get remeasured. Same goes if you gain a bit of weight. No one will know your size and you’re the one who has to sit through a ceremony, and three course dinner, and then dance the night away on the dance floor.

Choosing the Tuxedo

Unlike a bride, you don’t have to know what you are looking for before you go into the tuxedo store. Often times, seeing the different options will give you a good idea of what you like and don’t like.

The first thing you are going to want to do is take a look around the store and see what you like. What shape lapel do you like? Vest or cummerbund? Long tie or bow tie?

Notch Tuxedo (left) vs Peak Tuxedo (right)
(Photography via: David’s Formal Wear; The Tuxedo Store)

Once you have decided on the general look, decide on the jacket you like. The lapels and number of buttons are the main difference. The more buttons, the less vest you will see. Also, remember to ask about prices while you pick out the tuxedo because two tuxes may be very similar but priced differently because of designer name.

Once you have decided on the tuxedo, you’ll want to think of shirt style. Typically, the tux shirt is a white slightly ruffled shirt. Now before you say, “wooah, hold the ruffles!” they are very subtle, more like pleats and really do make it look like a tux rather than a suit. Now if you don’t want the ruffles, they often have a plain shirt you can opt for. Also, if the bride is wearing ivory or you have ivory tuxedos, you might want to go with an ivory shirt.

Long Tie vs Bow Tie
(Photography by me)

Then you have to move on to the vest. Usually the groom wears a neutral colored vest like black, white, ivory, or silver. Then the groomsmen wear a different color that compliments the bridesmaid dresses. You can match it or you just choose a neutral complimenting color. Finally you have to decide what the fathers will wear. Often they wear the same vest as the groomsmen, or a black vest.

The only other decision to make is shoes, rent or not. Tuxedo shoes are typically shiny patent leather shoes which you probably don’t own, but that doesn’t mean you have to rent them. If a uniform look is important, rent them, if not save your groomsmen some money and let them wear the black dress shoes they already have. They’ll be more comfortable too!

Now there are many different variations of this process, depending on the style you choose; this is the typical process of selecting a tuxedo or suit from a tuxedo store.

Engagement Ring Bling: Vera Wang’s LOVE Collection

Happy Friday everyone! Or as an avid TLC lover, Happy Bridesday! And in celebration of this day I want to share with you my favorite bridal stories, real weddings, inspiration and more.

To start things off, I figure I would start with the first part of wedding planning, the ring. Now I am the kind of girl who would prefer her man to propose WITH a ring, rather than pick it out after. However, I do like to take a look at what is out there so I can hint at what I want.

Photo via: Free New Fashion Design

As a daughter of British parents, I have always loved everything British, so of course I absolutely love Princess Kate! Especially her ring! It is just so stunning, don’t you agree?

While, I do love the bright blue sapphire, I would rather something a little more traditional. That’s why I love Vera Wang’s LOVE collection from ZALES as it has traditional diamond engagement rings, but each ring has a small hidden sapphire! Here are some of my favorites!

This ring has a 1/2 carat diamond in 14K white gold with accent diamonds around the sapphire, giving it 5/8 carats total. I really love the simplicity of this solitaire! ($2699.99)

This engagement ring has a 3/4 carat princess-cut diamond in 14K white gold, fit for a princess. Like the precious ring, it also has diamond accents around the sapphire, giving it 7/8 carats total. ($4499.99)

This three stone ring has a 5/8 carat diamond with a sapphire on each side. I love the symbolism of the stones representing the past, present, and future. There are also small diamonds accenting the 14K white gold band, giving it a total of 1-1/4 carats. It also has the signature sapphire on the side. ($4499.99)

This ring is a lot more elaborate than the other rings and has a similar shape to Kate’s ring. A 1 carat cushion-cut diamond surrounded by a square of smaller round accent diamonds. The 14K white gold band is also accented with diamonds giving it a total carat weight of 2 carats. ($9999.99)

Personally, I absolutely love all of these rings! And there are so many more beautiful ones in the collection. Which one is your favorite?

Tuxedo Tuesdays: Exploring the Options

Wedding gowns, veils, rings, venues, all get discussed from every angle, but often times the grooms attire gets forgotten. So I am going to go step by step through the entire process for the groom starting with all of the different options.

Tops and Tails

Photo via: The Knot

Top and tails is the most formal wedding attire. It consists of a black tuxedo with tails, bow ties or ascots, cummerbund, and top hat. This style is less common today, however is still seen at some very formal black-tie weddings.

Tuxedo

Photo via: Huffington Post

The tuxedo is the traditional wedding attire. It consists of a black coat and pants, ruffled shirt, and cummerbund or vest. While it most commonly comes in black, some styles can also come in white or ivory. Tuxedos differ in the material (some have stripes, higher thread count, etc) and lapels (or collars). There are many different ways to customize your tux look which makes it the most popular choice.

Suit

Photo via: Elizabeth Anne Designs

Another option is the suit. This style is very similar to the tuxedo. It differs in the type of material used to make it. Often the suit is of a lighter fabric than the tux, making it a popular choice for summer and destination weddings. Also, the suit comes in many more colors than the tux: black, white, brown, tan, and grey. Also, when going with a suit, some people choose to forgo the vest.

Suspenders

Photo via: Wedding Chicks

Suspender style has become increasingly popular recently. This is a much more informal look as it involves suit pants and suspenders. If you choose to go for this look, I suggest buying suit pants (like from Macy’s) rather than renting them from a Tuxedo store as it will probably be cheaper that way and you can wear them again.

Beach

Photo via: Jonathan Ivy

And there is beach style. This often consists of lightweight suit pants and a breezy shirt. It’s a great look for beach weddings as it is nice and cool. This is also something that you should shop for at a department store instead of a tuxedo store.

Finally, while it is not another style per say, it is an option, you must decide whether you will purchase or buy. If you are going with something that you would get at a tuxedo store, I suggest you rent. There are places that make custom tuxedos, but honestly, will you wear it again? I doubt it. However, if you are going with a suit and you think you will wear it again, buy it! You can even buy them from tuxedo rental places and they aren’t nearly as expensive as tuxedos! For the casual styles, buy it! I doubt you’ll find it in a tux store anyway.

Welcome to my Wedding World

Hi there! My name is Christina and I am absolutely wedding obsessed! I love everything about them!

Working in the wedding world is my dream! I fell in love with the wedding world in 11th grade when I started working at Valotta’s Tuxedos, a small family-owned tuxedo rental store that my neighbor owns. Then when trying to narrow down what I wanted to do at school, I realized that I wanted to do something in the bridal industry. I’m currently a junior at Hofstra University on Long Island, studying Public Relations with a minor in English and am hoping to do social media and public relations for a wedding magazine, planning company, bakery, etc in the future.

So far, I have had the pleasure of pursuing my dream through various internships. I started off at College Lifestyles, an online magazine for classy-coeds. While this publication doesn’t really lie in the wedding world, it taught me how to manage social media and breaking into the magazine industry. I then scored an internship as a virtual intern for Occasions Magazine, a wedding publication based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through this internship I have written many blog posts for the site on wedding and party inspiration. I also have a byline coming out in the next issue! I also spent a semester working in NYC at Bridal Guide Magazine as a web intern. I learned so much working along side the web editors and even got some bylines on the site! Finally, I have just started as a social media intern for Tim Duncan Events, a luxury wedding planning company based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Through all of this experience, I have truly reinforced that the wedding world is where I want to be! So while I work at getting there, I thought I would share some wedding tips and inspiration I find along the way! Because we all know that I’m planning my wedding everyday!